Orders, Decorations & Medals - British Groups

Lot 2934    SESSION 14 (2.30PM THURSDAY 1ST AUG)    Orders, Decorations & Medals - British Groups

Estimate $5,000
Bid at live.noble.com.au

AFC + MID GROUP OF SIX: Air Force Cross (GVIR); 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Africa Star, - clasp - North Africa 1942-43; Defence Medal 1939-45; War Medal 1939-45 with MID. The first medal with 1945 engraved on bottom of reverse, all medals unnamed as issued. Swing mounted, the stars cleaned, contact marks, otherwise fine - very fine.

Together with,^1) Pin-back matching riband bars with rosette on Africa Star.^2) Octagonal fibre compound dog tag marked, '51040/R Walton' on one side and on the other side, 'RAF/OFFR/METH'.^3) RAF embroidered badge (KC).^4) Signaller embroidered badge.^5) Case for AFC together with a short printed letter to Flight Lieutenant Robert Walton, A.F.C. from the King in which he states, 'I greatly regret that I am unable to give you personally the award which you have so well earned. I now send it to you with my congratulations and my best wishes for your future happiness.'^6) RAF Observer's and Air Gunner's Flying Log Book 16/11/40 and from June 1941 served as Wireless Operator through to January 1945.^7) Flying Log Book to replace a lost Log Book and this records Flt Lt Walton as a Signaller January to July 1950.^8) a small 'On Active Service' bible.^9) RAF Identity Card.^10) Official document commending Sergeant R.Walton, Royal Air Force for valuable service in the air, published in London Gazette 2 June 1943.^11) Parchment document signed by Queen Elizabeth II dated 23 October 1956 appointing Robert Walton, A.F.C. as an Officer in the Royal Air Force.^12) Large official photo with names and ranks for No. 33 Initial Administration Course "A" Group 27 August to 15 October 1952, includes Flt. Lt. R. Walton, A.F.C. ^13) Some banknotes from Canada, Ceylon, Egypt, Italy and Malta and a coin, an India silver rupee of 1944 (heavily toned) from countries he flew to, some notes with multiple souvenir signatures.^14) Various small and large b&w photos and photocopies including one showing Walton wearing his Signaller badge and riband bars.^15) Other b&w photos, one of Winston Churchill and on the reverse is written, 'Souvenir of Flight to/Cairo and Moscow/August, 1942', and two other photos of Churchill with other men at a conference in Moscow in 1942, both photos feature Joseph Stalin with one also featuring W. Averell Harriman and Vyacheslav Molotov.^AFC: Third Supplement to LG 3/4/1945, p1785 - Flt Lt Robert Walton (51040) RAFVR.^MID: Supplement to LG 2/6/1943, p2474 - Sergeant R.Walton^Robert Walton was born 17 January 1922 at Alston, Cumberland, England. He left school at the age of 14 to work as an apprentice electrician in the local lead mine. In June 1939 at the age of 17 he fulfilled his long held ambition by volunteering to join the Royal Air Force. He was initially trained as an air gunner and then as a wireless operator on Wellington bombers and Liberators with Coastal Command, 221 and 120 Squadrons patrolling the North Atlantic protecting shipping convoys against seaborne and airborne attacks. He was later posted to 511 Squadron at Lyneham employed on VIP duties and had the privilege of serving on the flights transporting members of the Royal family after the war as well as flying Winston Churchill to Moscow for a conference in 1942. He told his son that on one such trip, after a night stop, he awoke early to check the aircraft's radio equipment and found Churchill wandering around the airfield alone and much to Churchill's amusement and pleasure he told Walton that he had managed to slip his security guards.^On the trip to Moscow, British Intelligence requested that Walton noted the Russian radio frequencies because there was a lack of information about them. He dutifully recorded the frequencies in a log book and then hid it in the middle of the Westinghouse generator on board the plane because the crew were searched before disembarking and embarking. When he was on board for the return flight home he recovered the hidden log book only to discover that all the pages that had the frequencies recorded had been carefully removed with a razor.^Sgt Walton was mentioned in despatches for brave conduct in May 1943 and, now a Flight Lieutenant, was awarded the AFC in 1945. He continued to serve after the war and transferred to the Secretarial Branch in 1952. He resigned his commission in January 1971 and after working for Barclays for a short time he was employed by the National Health Service managing groups of hospitals up until he retired. Walton's son, Philip, served in the RAF for nearly 20 years and his father-in-law, Charles Hayman, was a founding member of the RAF on 1 April 1918 having served as an aircraft engineer in the RNAS during WWI. He went on to attain the rank of Wing Commander and after leaving the service became a member of the Air Accidents Investigation Branch. Robert Walton died on 13 September 2002 at age 80 in Ledbury, Herefordshire where he had retired with his wife, Jean, and she later died on 24 April 2016 at age 95.^With research and copies of the London Gazettes.